Finland Second Life

OECD - Innovative Learning Environment Project Universe Case Finland Second Life - Virtual world This secondary school (students aged 13 to 17), makes use of “Second Life”, a virtual world that is accessible via internet, for students’ entrepreneurship studies. After a preparation course, classes of students set up a working company in Second Life. This requires students to cooperate with their colleagues (departments of the classroom work on different services of the company), and to virtually interact with clients and real world company representatives who can give advice. During such contacts, students often use and practice English (as a foreign language). Learning is problem-based, requires active learning-by-doing and introduces the students to entrepreneurial work methods. Teachers receive a special training to use Second Life as instructional tool. Main focus of Innovation: RESOURCES, ORGANISATION Other keywords: blended/non-formal, learning space, technology-rich General Information Name of the ILE: Second Life - Virtual world Website: http://2ndhy.blogspot.com; http://slurl.com/secondlife/Paijat-Hame%20Edu%20Island/123/121/32 ILE submitted by: Organisation Salpaus Further Education 1 OECD - Innovative Learning Environment Project Universe Case Rationale Why do you suggest that it should be included in the project? How does it respond to 21st century learning challenges? We are using this innovative platform in the frame of the project Hyvä Yritys funded by the Finnish Board of Education. The objective of the project is to promote the use of Second Life in Entrepreneurship studies. So far, it has been proved that Second Life provides an immersive learning in the virtual classrooms, increases collaboration and socialization and it is an outstanding simulation tool. Moreover, it is easier to attend classes‟ regardless geographical considerations. The interactivity offered by virtual worlds in general is far more efficient than a traditional e-learning platform as we deal in a virtual world like Second Life with one's visual and virtual self; consequently the sense of presence and identity is reinforced by the environment. Role playing is by far facilitated by this dimension. Role playing is for instance very important when running a junior company as we are doing in Salpaus Further Education. Students have set up their business idea and very easily exported it to Second Life. According to published white papers on the subject, 80% of the world's Internet users will be in a virtual world by 2011. Evidence Is there any evidence or indications showing that this initiative achieves the outcomes that it is aiming at? About 1000 Educational organisations (schools, vocational institutions, Universities...) around the world mainly in the United States of America already use that medium in their curriculum for instance Harvard, Columbia Universities. In Finland, we can already find for instance the universities of Joensuu, Turku, Helsinki and vocational institutes like Salpaus Further Education. Salpaus Further Education develops new learning processes in this virtual world. Many large companies (Nokia, Mercedes, Michelin…) also use Second Life as an innovative way to meet with their staff and organise conferences or meetings in one place reducing consequently travel costs. Art, music, social events are organised in Second Life by real life artists. A very good and interesting survey has been conducted in 2008 among educators using Second Life in their classes. The survey can be found at this address: http://www.nmc.org/pdf/2008-sl-survey.pdf Another very interesting research for us as it concerns vocational education can be found at this address: http://www.scribd.com/doc/7063696/The-Autumn-2008-Snapshot-of-UK-Higher-and-Further-Education- Developments-in-Second-Life. Learning Aims / Intended Learning Outcomes of the ILE What are the core learning aims and which knowledge, skills or attitudes are to be acquired? (These may include outcomes related to learners’ social, interpersonal, or meta-cognitive development) Second Life surely gives the learner information, open space to develop close co-operation with others, different and new immersive environments plus flexibility of space, real time and direct interaction (interaction also with visitors who can enter the class „other instructors for instance‟), socialization, face to face virtual meetings, ability to more spontaneous responses to assignments, better awareness to one‟s surroundings consequently better awareness in RL, feeling to belong to a community, presence, sense of class community, high level of engagement, strong bond between students, simulation, role playing, discussion group possibilities, participation to social events, conferences and seminars, data visualization and activities based on socio-constructivism. It gives also a physical representation of learner‟s “self” and consequently higher capability to express much more easily his/her own personality, closer relationships (students talk also about their dressing, look like in a casual conversation in RL…), unrestrained environment violating the laws of physics. We also can add that it gives shy, discrete, intimated, emotional, sensitive or less talkative students a way to better express themselves as for instance nobody steers at your avatar when you talk or write to others. 2 OECD - Innovative Learning Environment Project Universe Case In Second Life, the instructor speaks student's language so the gap instructor-student diminishes. The gap then between instructor-student diminishes. We can also add that according to our experience Second Life enhances students‟ metaskills in an efficient manner. By doing business in Second Life, we got an excellent combination of Junior companies set up in Real Life focusing their business in the virtual environment of Second Life. Those "real" Junior companies were created in the frame of the program "Junior Achievement Young Enterprise". The results show that students doing business with their companies in the virtual world learned the following concepts besides all those already mentioned above in more general words: - Students followed a preparation course whereby they got acquainted to the virtual world and started to analyse the virtual world's rules and boundaries. By learning and analysing this new world from the Entrepreneurship angle, students surely learn to work and do business in different environments in the same way as to move to another country and get acquainted to another culture. - Students learned to work entrepreneurship wise (attending clients in the best way, customer service, practising English (as it is the most used in Second Life), and communication skills of their own field of activities, in our case Tourism. - Students found innovative and creative solutions to their new challenges (chose themselves the company they wanted, some created virtual environment creating for instance rooms, offices and furniture) - Team work, students were divided in two groups but both worked as one group in Second Life when doing business (for instance, the choice of uniforms for their own avatars in-world). - Students felt encouraged to get contact in-world with people working in different communities whether in English or in Finnish with the Finnish community well present now in Second Life. Contacts were also taken with real world company representatives (funding and banking organisations). Our objective to attract as well those real world companies to do business in-world. - Students learn how to do business in real as for instance: everything needed when starting up a business and further on how to run a business and bring profits to the company, how to market products and services, learn the rules and legislation of a new environment, virtual world or not. - Students took controlled risks. The material risk was small as the input in terms of money was really small (five Euros per students for the capital of the company). The psychological risk also was very limited as students worked through their avatar and consequently it also was easy to hide behind their virtual self. - The teacher have been able to supervise students in different ways whether in the classrooms and via Second Life. Students felt more confident that way knowing that even if they working in a virtual world, the teacher was always physically nearby if support or advice needed when facing a problem. This was a real win-win situation as often when a youngster sets up a company in the real world and do business in it, support and advice are more difficult to get. Learners Which group(s) of learners is it aiming at? Who is eligible to take part? How many learners are there? What are their ages? In Salpaus Further Education, mainly young students over 18, upper secondary schools, vocational students. We started with 2 pilot groups in total 30 students. Their ages vary from 18 to 27. But in general, all purples from secondary and upper secondary schools in between 13 and 17 can enter Second Life. They will be given access to the Teen Grid (Second Life for teenagers). Universities are also involved in Second Life like Helsinki, Joensuu Universities in Finland. Being a student in Second Life requires being computer literate which is not an issue as young students are digital natives. 3 OECD - Innovative Learning Environment Project Universe Case Facilitators Who are the teachers/facilitators? Who are the leaders? What are their professional backgrounds? What are their roles? The teachers come from our Institution. They are all qualified teachers in the subject they teach and have been trained to the use of Second Life by the project manager. The leaders of the project are Salpaus Management and Georges Segura, project manager whose background is engineering with 14 years of teaching experience in foreign languages in Finland. The role of the project manager is to ensure that the teachers and the students get enough training in the use of the ILE in our case Second Life and provide technical expertise during all the duration of the project. Salpaus Further Education provides the physical environment and computers, Linden Lab provides the ILE meaning the virtual world Second Life i.e.

Load more